Galloway Glens projects taking shape

McNabb Laurie, the Galloway Glens Development Officer visited the Glenkens Children's Club recently to celebrate the construction of their new activity board. Photo Credit: Sarah Ade.

Published:10:30Wednesday 15 March 2017

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The Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership Scheme is a Heritage Lottery Funded scheme taking place up and down the Ken and Dee river catchment, from Carsphairn in the North to Kirkcudbright in the South. £2.7m has been provisionally secured from HLF to be spent on projects across the area that ‘connect people to their cultural, built and natural heritage’.

The Galloway Glens Scheme is now over halfway through the development phase and the list of projects under consideration is starting to take shape.

Pictured is McNabb Laurie, the Galloway Glens Development Officer visiting the Glenkens Children’s Club recently to celebrate the construction of their new activity board. Photo Credit: Sarah Ade.

McNabb Laurie said: “We are planning our 5 years of project activity, expected to run from 2018-2023. Projects supported will either come as a result of studies commissioned by the Scheme, all currently underway and approaching completion, or from project ideas that have been submitted by people and groups up and down the valley.”

“Projects will be developed over the next six months, with other suggestions still in the pipeline. We will be combining this project work with the outputs of our Landscape Character Assessment which is currently underway. This is being led by Northlight Heritage and people may have seen the Sights & Sites branded events taking place. These will help us submit a really detailed proposal to HLF outlining what makes the local area special and how the projects we are proposing will support the local landscape. We hope to release the full project list shortly. ”

This development phase has been primarily funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which was provisionally secured by Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Councillor Colin Smyth, Chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee this week met with McNabb this week to review progress in the scheme.

Councillor Smyth said: “It is great to see the project listing start to come together. This is the result of a massive amount of community consultation and engagement up and down the valley. I understand more than 130 people attended the first round of ‘Sights & Sites’ events, giving their own personal views on what they think makes the landscape special, many thanks to everyone who has got involved. The scheme is aiming to give a genuine boost to the area, benefitting visitors and locals alike”.

“The work that has been done to date shows how worthwhile the vision from council staff was when they began this whole process and I am really looking forward to seeing the final funding secured and the projects being developed on the ground”.